Win or lose in playoffs, Ravens' Ray Lewis says he's retiring

Linebacker announces Ravens’ playoff run will be his ‘last ride’

BALTIMORE — Ray Lewis, who has played 17 seasons for the Ravens and defined
the team’s defensive excellence, announced Wednesday his decision to retire,
telling teammates that “this will be my last ride.”

Lewis, 37, has been sidelined since Oct. 14 with a torn right triceps. The
13-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker intends to return Sunday to face the
Indianapolis Colts in what will almost certainly be his final home game.

Lewis will walk away from the game because he wants to spend more time with
his sons. While working to return from his injury, Lewis watched two of his boys
play on the same high school football team in Florida. Ray Lewis III will be a
freshman next year at Miami, where the elder Lewis starred before the Ravens
selected him in the first round of the 1996 draft.

“God is calling,” Lewis said. “My children have made the ultimate sacrifice
for their father for 17 years. I don’t want to see them do that no more. I’ve
done what I wanted to do in this business, and now it’s my turn to give them
something back.”

Lewis was the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2000, the same season he was
voted Super Bowl MVP following Baltimore’s 34-7 rout of the New York Giants.
Lewis was also Defensive Player of the Year in 2003, and is the only player in
NFL history with at least 40 career sacks and 30 interceptions.

“I never played the game for individual stats,” Lewis said. “I only played
the game to make my team a better team.”

Lewis has been with the Ravens since they moved from Cleveland. After being
drafted 26th overall in Baltimore’s first draft, Lewis became a fixture at
middle linebacker — and a beloved figure in Baltimore.

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